After making a big splash in his Bellator debut, it does not appear Anthony Johnson will be back in the Bellator cage anytime soon as he focuses’ on something bigger, himself.
Scott Coker Gives Anthony Johnson Update
Anthony Johnson made his debut back at Bellator 258 when he had a comeback knockout against Jose Augusto. Johnson was hurt early in the fight but came back to win and was in line to fight Vadim Nemkov for the Bellator Light Heavyweight title as well as a spot in the Grand Prix finals but he was forced out due to an undisclosed illness. That same illness has not allowed him to come back to the sport since and it may not be happening anytime soon, unfortunately.
This week when speaking to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Bellator President Scott Coker stated that he isn’t very optimistic for a return anytime soon for Anthony Johnson. Rather, he is much more interested in Johnson taking care of himself first, “Without getting too much into his medical condition, he’s got to worry just about being healthy first. Fighting will always be there. I told him to keep doing what he’s doing, keep listening to the doctors, and keep at it. We’re going to be here, we’re not going anywhere. If you get cleared at some point, we’ll definitely have you back”.
Coker emphasized that no matter the time it takes “a year from now, 18 months from now, or six months from now, we’ll get at it…”. Again though the ever-classy Coker wouldn’t budge on the fact that Johnson needs to focus on himself saying that “until then, he’s got to heal up and get healthy because there’s so much more in life than just fighting…”.
Bellator has built itself a deep light heavyweight division by utilizing the right free agency signings as well as the international pool of talent. If Anthony Johnson can make his way back then the division gets that much deeper, here is to hope him all the best.
